Monday, April 25, 2011

Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island (Part One)

We have lived in Washington State for six years now. There is so much to do in our area. I am always discovering new places...

While my son and his girlfriend were visiting us over Easter weekend, we decided to visit the Bloedel Reserve. This reserve is right in our own backyard, so to speak, but we had never been there.

The weather was so beautiful on Saturday.... sunny and the temperature in the 60's... It was a perfect day!

When you arrive at the visitors station of the reserve, they tell you that it is going to be about a two to three hour hike through the paths on the reserve. You will receive a map of the different spots of interest...

The first section along the path that we took, featured a moss garden...

So pretty....a wonderland of green lush moss...

Among the moss were little sweet surprises along the way...

Little dainty flowers mixed among the moss and beautiful trees...

It was fun to follow the meandering path around the reserve....

Every turn of the path brought something beautiful into focus.... so many photo opportunities for me...

I have always loved camillias...

After the moss garden, we came upon a water feature...

A little stream was flowing into a pond area....

At the edge of the pond were a couple of geese...

Near the pond with the geese was an entrance into a Japanese style house...

The former owners of the property, Mr. and Mrs. Bloedel, commissioned this Japanese style home to be built on their property--many years ago--as a guest house for their grown children and grandchildren to stay in when they would come....as well as the many friends that would visit the Bloedel's. The Japanese guest house is in walking distance of the main house on the property.

I love the sliding doors on the home and the glass up on the roof area...

The architecture is a cross between the Indian influence of the Northwest and the Japanese culture of the area...

The area that you will see next used to be a swimming pool that was right next to the guesthouse. After the home and property were donated, the pool was removed and a zen garden was put in to keep in tune with the feeling of this area of the property...

At the time it was a pool and the home and property was being used by the Bloedels, there were many parties out around this pool and many afternoons that the children and grandchildren would spend time swimming and diving into the pool while visiting and staying in the guesthouse.

Such a beautiful and peaceful area that we couldn't resist making a few photos... I love this photo I made of my husband...

Okay, enough of us.... Back to our tour.... Here is a photo of the inside of the guest house. I made this photo through the glass to share with you.

The inside that you are seeing looked through the glass doors out at the pool which is now the zen garden.

This was taken through glass... I wish the photos were better but at least you have an idea of what the inside of the Japanese guesthouse was like. The big oriental sliding doors would push to each side and the living room space was open to the outdoors and the pool. It is important for me to point out at this point that there are very few mosquitos in our area....and only the occasional garden snake. Few people have airconditioning in our part of Washington State and we open balcony doors in the late spring and summer to let the fresh air in.

Heading through the Japanese gate, we head down the pathway towards another discovery.... Such a relaxing and beautiful walk... So peaceful....

I have so much to show you as we tour the Bloedel Reserve..... Tomorrow, we will walk farther down the path together and visit the main house of the property. We'll tour the main house together....the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bloedel. We are so lucky to be able to visit this beautiful reserve. Thank you to the Bloedels for gifting this property so that others may enjoy the beauty.

Comments

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We love finding places like that to spend time! You are a wonderful photographer, my friend and you had good lighting to take photos of your hubby and yourself! You look very cute and have a beautiful smile! Thanks for sharing! I'm enjoying learning about new places! ♥

Thank you, Diane and Trish, for the very sweet comments. The Blodel Reserve is an amazing place! We are so blessed that the Bloedel family wanted the public to experience the beauty of the property. I am going to be sharing--in part three--photos and write up from the family scrapbook. This tells a little history of the Bloedels. The couple moved into the home as empty nesters. The 100 plus acres on the property was wooded at the time that they moved there in the 50's. Mrs. Bloedel loved the home and it's formality. Mr. Bloedel wanted to develop the property and had a vision of what he hoped it would be. They would gift each other at holiday time little projects that they had completed for each other on the property. They were a very interesting couple. My husband and I loved the Reserve so much that we became members on our visit. We are going there on Mother's Day afternoon to listen to a pianist perform in the main house. I'll post some photos of that, too. I was excited to share the beauty of this area. The Reserve is listed in the top ten gardens to visit. Have a wonderful day today. xoxo Kim